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Dan Aykroyd Talks Vodka, 'SNL' And Hellhound Blues

Dan Aykroyd has accomplished quite a bit in his lifetime as an actor, writer and musician. Now he can add successful entrepreneur and marketer to the list. Aykroyd is one of the principals behind Crystal Head Vodka. The premium spirit with the unique backstory recently sold its 3 millionth bottle and is now available in 30 countries.

Aykroyd took a few moments to share his thoughts about his new passion as well as discuss some of his favorite “Saturday Night Live” memories and even offer up a few music suggestions. Here’s what he had to say:

Q: What’s the story behind Crystal Head Vodka?

Dan Aykroyd: The story behind Crystal Head Vodka starts with two artists – John Alexander, the American landscape painter and portraitist, and me, the writer-actor. One February night at his studio in New York in the midst of a blizzard over Broadway, we were discussing my association with Patron Tequila as their cross-Canada importer and promoter. John said he’s always wanted to see an alcoholic beverage in a skull bottle. I asked him to do some work on the design, expecting a submission in a few months. Turning briefly to sip my Patron XO, I turned back and saw that within 47 seconds John had created our bottle, sketching it out on a piece of paper.

I said: ‘It looks like one of the 13 Crystal Heads purportedly used as scrying stones by the Maya, Aztec and Navajo people! It will be a clear and beautiful bottle into which we can put a white spirit; pure with no additives!’

This led up to the idea of eliminating the customary oils, which are added to less premium vodkas – glycol [antifreeze], citrus oil [bug exterminant] and raw sugar.

Q: How important is a good story for selling?

DA: A story is indispensible for connecting in a truly impactful way with the consumer. Happily the legend of the 13 Heads furnished us with all the attributes we would want to ascribe to Crystal Head Vodka – purity, positivity, clarity and enlightened consumption. Enlightening the drinker of our pure spirit is a natural derivative from the story of the skulls.

Q: You have a history of lampooning ads. What are your top three ‘SNL’ commercial parodies and why?

DA: The ‘SNL’ commercial parodies which really made me laugh were the Michael O’Donoghue and Chevy Chase-written combination floor wax-dessert topping sketch; the Peter Aykroyd-written “Speci-Pak,” which was a briefcase to carry severed digits after an accident; and the Michael O’Donoghue-written ad for Green Cross Cupcakes, featuring Tom Davis and Al Franken as baker-orderlies.

Q: Why do you think that aspect of the show has always been so popular?

DA: Parodies of commercials are by no means new and have been popular going back to black-and-white TV shows of the ‘50s. ‘SNL’ treated commercials in a novel, more edgy and intelligent way.

Q: You’re a music connoisseur. Turn us on to three tracks we need to hear right away.

DA: Rather than suggesting tracks, I recommend all music by James Brown, Creedence Clearwater and Bobby Rush.

Q: If you were to create a spot for Crystal Head, which song would fit the best?

DA: The Head is a friend to all music, ancient sea shanties about pirates, heavy crunch metal, hellhound blues, Mayan drums and flutes – and all Ventures tracks. If I were to cut a TV spot, it would depict our government manufacturing process. It would be silent, except for the sound of our first pour after distillation and filtration through our cone of Herkimer white crystals. The resultant satin finish is all natural, and the only sound we would hear is that of purity.

Q: So back to the Head itself – is packaging the driving force behind the product’s success?

DA: The package certainly gets the attention of everyone who sees it. You’ll notice we do not have a grimacing skull, but one with a pleasantly wicked grin. However, a package can only take a product so far. We backed up the superior design of the bottle with a premium-quality product, which is rated 90-plus points from the Anthony Dias Blue Tasting Panel.

Q: What’s next for Crystal Head Vodka?

DA: Crystal Head Vodka is now sold in over 30 countries internationally. Our awareness in the industry, however, is still limited. Our task now is to continue educating the consumer on how Crystal Head is not only great in a cold shot glass straight, but it is also the bar chef’s friend. It is a zero-additive base on which to add everything needed to construct great cocktails.

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